The Most Stupendously Epic World Cup Statistical Overview Ever Produced

I can’t recall exactly how I discovered Deepu Narayana, but I’m glad I did.

I saw his blog and invited him to be our statistical guru. If we had a Ric Finlay Award for cricket numbers excellence, Deepu would have already won it.

Here is his Bay 13 debut.

Need to settle a bar dispute about how anything World Cup stats driven? The answer will be below.

I challenge you to find a more comprehensive array of World Cup stats anywhere.

This piece is brutal. Simply Epic!

Best you don’t read this on a mobile. The tables may not fit on those small screens.

[Dennis]

—————————————-

Another World Cup is around the corner and the world is getting ready for the extravaganza.

Cricket’s pinnacle tournament is returning to Australia and New Zealand after 23 years with the 14 best teams across the globe.

The New Zealand – Sri Lanka encounter at Hagley Oval in Christchurch on 14th Feb will mark the start of cricket’s marquee event.

Co-hosts Australia and New Zealand are entering the tournament with rich vein of form behind them as is South Africa. England are still regrouping under their new leader while the Asian teams are little expected to post any trouble. West Indies need nothing short of a miracle to reach the final four. The minnow’s gets another opportunity to lock horns with their big brothers in the grandest stage of them all but is not expected to go beyond an upset or two in the league stages.

This is the first world cup not featuring some of the yesteryear’s greats like Richards and Tendulkar, Imran and Kallis, etc. Let us now go through the stats to see how the teams have fared so far in the World Cups.

World Cups across the years

No.

Year

Teams

Host

Matches

Winner

Runners up

1

1975

8

England

15

WI

Aus

2

1979

8

England

14

WI

Eng

3

1983

8

England

27

Ind

WI

4

1987

8

India & Pakistan

27

Aus

Eng

5

1992

9

Australia & New Zealand

39

Pak

Eng

6

1996

12

India, Pakistan & Sri Lanka

36

SL

Aus

7

1999

12

England, Ireland, Netherlands & Scotland

42

Aus

Pak

8

2003

14

South Africa, Zimbabwe & Kenya

52

Aus

Ind

9

2007

16

West Indies

51

Aus

SL

10

2011

14

India, Bangladesh & Sri Lanka

49

Ind

SL

Teams in the World Cup

Team

Span

Mat

Won

Lost

Tied

NR

W/L

HS

LS

Australia

1975-2011

76

55

19

1

1

2.894

377

129

Bangladesh

1999-2011

26

8

17

0

1

0.47

283

58

Bermuda

2007-2007

3

0

3

0

0

0

156

78

Canada

1979-2011

18

2

16

0

0

0.125

261

36

East Africa

1975-1975

3

0

3

0

0

0

128

94

England

1975-2011

66

39

25

1

1

1.56

338

93

India

1975-2011

67

39

26

1

1

1.5

413

125

Ireland

2007-2011

15

4

10

1

0

0.4

329

77

Kenya

1996-2011

29

6

22

0

1

0.272

264

69

Namibia

2003-2003

6

0

6

0

0

0

250

45

Netherlands

1996-2011

20

2

18

0

0

0.111

314

115

New Zealand

1975-2011

70

40

29

0

1

1.379

363

112

Pakistan

1975-2011

64

36

26

0

2

1.384

349

74

Scotland

1999-2007

8

0

8

0

0

0

186

68

South Africa

1992-2011

47

30

15

2

0

2

356

149

Sri Lanka

1975-2011

66

31

32

1

2

0.968

398

86

U.A.E.

1996-1996

5

1

4

0

0

0.25

220

136

West Indies

1975-2011

64

38

25

0

1

1.52

360

93

Zimbabwe

1983-2011

51

10

37

1

3

0.27

340

99

Australia have played the most matches (76) and also won the most (55). Apart from Australia no other team has won more than 50 World Cup games.

East Africa, Scotland, Namibia & Bermuda are the teams who have not won a single World Cup match till date. Apart from Scotland the other 3 teams have not featured in more than one World Cup.

South Africa is the only team to feature in more than one tied game in World Cups. However they were eliminated from the respective tournaments on both occasions after the tied games.

Australia has reached the World Cup final most (6) followed by West Indies England, India and Sri Lanka (3 each). South Africa & New Zealand are yet to reach a World Cup final.

Australia, Pakistan & New Zealand have played in the most semi-finals – 6. Australia has won the most (5) while New Zealand has lost all 6.

Australia has had the most consecutive wins – 25 wins, spanning across 4 World Cups (1999-2011). They also have the streak of most consecutive World Cup matches without a loss – 34 matches between their losses to Pakistan in 1999 & 2011 World Cup.

Zimbabwe has had the worst run in a World Cup with 18 consecutive defeats between the win in their inaugural ODI against Australia at Nottingham in 1983 and their last league game in the 1992 edition against England at Alburry. These were also the first 20 ODI games for Zimbabwe.

Highest Team Totals in a World Cup

Team

Score

Opposition

Ground

Start Date

India

413/5

Bermuda

Port of Spain

19-Mar-07

Sri Lanka

398/5

Kenya

Kandy

06-Mar-96

Australia

377/6

South Africa

Basseterre

24-Mar-07

India

373/6

Sri Lanka

Taunton

26-May-99

India

370/4

Bangladesh

Dhaka

19-Feb-11

Lowest Team Totals in a World Cup

Team

Score

Overs

Opposition

Ground

Start Date

Canada

36

18.4

Sri Lanka

Paarl

19-Feb-03

Canada

45

40.3

England

Manchester

13-Jun-79

Namibia

45

14

Australia

Potchefstroom

27-Feb-03

Bang

58

18.5

West Indies

Dhaka

04-Mar-11

Scotland

68

31.3

West Indies

Leicester

27-May-99

BATTING RECORDS

Most Runs

Player

Span

Inns

Runs

HS

Ave

SR

100

50

S Tendulkar

1992-2011

44

2278

152

56.95

88.98

6

15

R Ponting

1996-2011

42

1743

140*

45.86

79.95

5

6

B Lara

1992-2007

33

1225

116

42.24

86.26

2

7

S Jayasuriya

1992-2007

37

1165

120

34.26

90.66

3

6

J Kallis

1996-2011

32

1148

128*

45.92

74.4

1

9

Among the players selected for this World Cup, Kumar Sangakkara leads the runs list with 991 runs followed by fellow countryman Mahela Jayawardene (975 runs).

Most Runs in a Single Edition

Player

Edition

Inns

Runs

HS

Ave

SR

100

50

S Tendulkar

2003

11

673

152

61.18

89.25

1

6

M Hayden

2007

10

659

158

73.22

101.07

3

1

M Jayawardene

2007

11

548

115*

60.88

85.09

1

4

R Ponting

2007

9

539

113

67.37

95.39

1

4

S Tendulkar

1996

7

523

137

87.16

85.87

2

3

Most Centuries

Player

Span

Inns

Runs

HS

Ave

SR

100

50

SR Tendulkar

1992-2011

44

2278

152

56.95

88.98

6

15

RT Ponting

1996-2011

42

1743

140*

45.86

79.95

5

6

SC Ganguly

1999-2007

21

1006

183

55.88

77.5

4

3

ME Waugh

1992-1999

22

1004

130

52.84

83.73

4

4

Among the players selected for this World Cup, Mahela Jayawardene and AB de Villiers has most hundreds – 3 each.

Most hundreds in any single edition by a player is 3 – by Mark Waugh in 1996, S Ganguly in 2003 & M Hayden in 2007.

Sachin is the only player to score more than one hundred in a single edition twice. He scored 2 centuries each in 1996 & 2011. Incidentally, both editions were co-hosted by India.

Fastest Centuries

Player

Balls

Final

For

vs

Venue

Date

K O’Brien

50

113 (63)

Ire

Eng

Bangalore

02-Mar-11

M Hayden

66

101 (68)

Aus

SA

St Kitts

24-Mar-07

J Davison

67

111 (76)

Can

WI

Centurion

23-Feb-03

P Stirling

70

101 (72)

Ire

Neth

Kolkata

18-Mar-11

A Gilchrist

72

149 (104)

Aus

SL

Bridgetown

28-Apr-07

Kapil Dev

72

175*(138)

Ind

Zim

Turnbridge Wells

18-Jun-83

Fastest Fifties

Player

Balls

Final

For

vs

Venue

Date

B McCullum

20

52 (21)

NZ

Can

St Lucia

22-Mar-07

M Boucher

21

75*(31)

SA

Neth

St Kitts

16-Mar-07

M Boucher

22

52 (23)

SA

WI

St George’s

10-Apr-07

B Lara

23

73 (40)

WI

Can

Centurion

23-Feb-03

J Davison

23

52 (31)

Can

NZ

St Lucia

22-Mar-07

K Pollard

23

60 (27)

WI

Neth

Delhi

28-Feb-11

Consecutive Hundreds in World Cups

Player

Inngs 1

Inngs 2

Mark Waugh

130 vs Kenya, Vizag, 1996

126 vs Ind, Mumbai, 1996

Rahul Dravid

104* vs Ken, Bristol, 1999

145* vs SL, Taunton, 1999

Saed Anwar

103 vs Zim, Oval, 1999

113* vs NZ, Manchester, 1999

R Ponting

140* vs Ind, Johannesburg, 2003

113 vs Scot, Basseterre, 2007

M Hayden

101vs SA, Basseterre, 2007

158 vs WI, North Sound, 2007

AB de Villiers

107* vs WI, Delhi, 2011

134 vs Neth, Mohali, 2011

Ponting’s hundreds came in 2 separate World Cups – one in 2003 World Cup final and other in Australia’s first game of 2007 World Cup.

Most Consecutive Scores of 50 or More in World Cups

Player

Inngs

Score 1

Score 2

Score 3

Score 4

Graeme Fowler

4

78* vs Pak, Lord’s, 1983

69 vs NZ, Birmingam, 1983

69 vs Pak, Manchester, 1983

81* vs SL, Leeds, 1983

N Sidhu

4

73 vs Aus, Chennai, 1987

75 vs NZ, Bangalore, 1987

51 vs Aus, Delhi, 1987

55 vs Zim, Ahmedabad, 1987

D Boon

4

93 vs Zim, Cuttack, 1987

65 vs Pak, Lahore, 1987

75 vs Eng, Kolkata, 1987

100 vs NZ, Auckland, 1992

S Tendulkar

4

127* vs Ken, Cuttack, 1996

70 vs WI, Gwalior, 1996

90 vs Aus, Mumbai, 1996

137 vs SL, Delhi, 1996

S Tendulkar

4

81 vs Zim, Harare, 2003

152 vs Nam, Pietermatizburg, 2003

50 vs Eng, Durban, 2003

98 vs Pak, Centurion, 2003

G Smith

4

67 vs Neth, ST Kitts, 2007

91 vs Scot, St Kitts, 2007

74 vs Aus, St Kitts, 2007

59 vs SL, Guyana, 2007

Boon’s sequence spanned over 2 World Cups, including the 1987 World Cup final.

Mark Waugh & Ricky Ponting never put together a hundred-run partnership in World Cups.

FIELDING RECORDS

Most Dismissals by Wicket Keepers

Player

Inns

Dis

Ct

St

Max Dis Inns

Dis/Inn

A Gilchrist

31

52

45

7

6 (6ct 0st)

1.677

K Sangakkara

29

46

36

10

4 (3ct 1st)

1.586

B McCullum

25

32

30

2

4 (4ct 0st)

1.28

M Boucher

25

31

31

0

4 (4ct 0st)

1.24

Moin Khan

20

30

23

7

3 (3ct 0st)

1.5

A Gilchrist has taken most catches as a WK in a single match – 6 vs Namibia at Potchefstroom in 2003. It is also the most dismissals by a WK in a World Cup match.

A Gilchrist has most dismissals as a WK in a single edition – 21 in the 2003 World Cup.

Most Catches by Fielders

Player

Inns

Ct

Max

Ct/Inn

R Ponting

46

28

3

0.608

S Jayasuriya

38

18

2

0.473

C Cairns

28

16

3

0.571

Inzamam-ul-Haq

34

16

3

0.47

Brian Lara

34

16

2

0.47

M Kaif of India has taken most catches in an innings – 4 vs SL at Johannesburg in 2003

R Ponting has taken most catches as a fielder in a single edition – 10 in 2003 World Cup. No one else has managed to catch more than 8 in a single tournament.

OTHER RECORDS

Most Matches in World Cups

Player

Span

Mat

R Ponting

1996-2011

46

S Tendulkar

1992-2011

45

M Muralitharan

1996-2011

40

G McGrath

1996-2007

39

S Jayasuriya

1992-2007

38

Wasim Akram

1987-2003

38

Most Matches as Captain in World Cups

Player

Span

Mat

Won

Lost

Tied

NR

%

R Ponting

2003-2011

29

26

2

0

1

89.66%

S Fleming

1999-2007

27

16

10

0

1

59.26%

M Azharuddin

1992-1999

23

10

12

0

1

43.48%

Imran Khan

1983-1992

22

14

8

0

0

63.64%

C Lloyd

1975-1983

17

15

2

0

0

88.24%

G Smith

2007-2011

17

11

6

0

0

64.71%

R Ponting’s 2 losses came in his last 2 matches in World Cup. He won all of his first 24 ODIs as captain.

C Lloyd & R Ponting has won most World Cups as captain – 2 each.

Players Representing 2 Countries in World Cups

Player

Team 1 & Span

Team 2 & Span

Kepler Wessels

Aus (1983)

SA (1992)

Anderson Cummins

WI (1992)

Can (2007)

Eoin Morgan

Ire (2007)

Eng (2011)

Ed Joyce

Eng (2007)

Ire (2011)

K Wessels has played for SA against Aus but never the other way around.

E Morgan & E Joyce has played in both ways – for Eng against Ire and also for Ire against Eng.

Most ODIs Never Playing in a World Cup

Player

ODIs

Hamilton Masakadza

144

Rohit Sharma

127

Irfan Pathan

120

Ravindra Jadeja

111

Nuwan Zoysa

95

Dinesh Chandimal / Alistair Cook

92

Lahiru Thirimanne

87

VVS Laxman

86

James Hopes

84

Masakadza, Rohit, Jadeja, Chandimal & Thirimanne is all a part of their World Cup squads this time.

Largest Victory Margin

Winner

Margin

Target

Opposition

Ground

Match Date

India

257 runs

414

Bermuda

Port of Spain

19-Mar-07

Australia

256 runs

302

Namibia

Potchefstroom

27-Feb-03

Sri Lanka

243 runs

322

Bermuda

Port of Spain

15-Mar-07

South Africa

231 runs

352

Netherlands

Mohali

03-Mar-11

Australia

229 runs

359

Netherlands

Basseterre

18-Mar-07

Smallest Victory Margin

Winner

Margin

Target

Opposition

Ground

Match Date

Australia

1 run

271

India

Chennai

09-Oct-87

Australia

1 run

236

India

Brisbane

01-Mar-92

Sri Lanka

2 runs

236

England

North Sound

04-Apr-07

New Zealand

3 runs

243

Zimbabwe

Hyderabad (Deccan)

10-Oct-87

Australia

3 runs

200

New Zealand

Indore

18-Oct-87

Zimbabwe

3 runs

253

India

Leicester

19-May-99

West Indies

3 runs

279

South Africa

Cape Town

09-Feb-03

Most Runs Off an Over

Batsmen

For

Runs

Over #

Bowler

Team

Over

Venue

Date

H Gibbs

SA

36

30

D van Bunge

Neth

666666

St Kitts

16-Mar-07

K Williamson, J Franklin

NZ

31

48

R Cheema, H Baidwan

Can

16646nb4w2

Mumbai

13-Mar-11

M Boucher, J Kallis

SA

30

40

L van Troost

Neth

412w5666

St Kitts

16-Mar-07

R Taylor

NZ

30

49

A Razzaq

Pak

46w6w246

Pallekele

08-Mar-11

D Lehmann

Aus

28

50

R van Vuuren

Nam

444646

Potchefstroom

27-Feb-03

R Taylor

NZ

28

47

S Akhtar

Pak

466w04w6

Pallekele

08-Mar-11

R Taylor

NZ

28

39

H Baidwan

Can

660664

Mumbai

13-Mar-11

R Cheema was taken off for bowling 2 beamers in the NZ – Can match at Mumbai on 13-Mar-2011.

#CricketBelieveItOrNot

Mark Waugh is the only player to get dismissed in the first over a World Cup semi-final twice – by C Ambrose against WI at Mohali in 1996 & by S Pollock against SA at Edgbaston in 1999.

Asif Karim of Kenya (1999 & 2003) & Klaas-Jan van Noortwik of Netherlands (1996 & 2003) played 2 World Cups without playing a single ODI in between the two tournaments.

Dwayne Leverock of Bermuda has conceded the most sixes in an innings in a World Cup match – 8 against India at Port of Spain on 19-Mar-2007.

James Anderson & Malachi Jones of Bermuda have conceded the most fours in an innings in a World Cup match – 13 each. Both were against India.

SL didn’t play any ODIs between the 1975 and 1979 World Cups. Somachandra de Silva, Duleep Mendis, Sunil Wettimuny, Tony Opatha, Anura Tennekoon, Bandula Warnapura and Ajit de Silva represented them in both tournaments.

Zimbabwe didn’t play a single ODI outside the World Cup games between 1983 & 1992. Iain Butchart, Dave Houghton, Ali Omarshah, Andy Pycroft and John Traicos played in all the 3 World Cups.

There has been only a single ODI which had 3 scores in the nineties – the match between Australia & South Africa at St Kitts. R Ponting (91), M Clarke (92) and AB de Villiers (92) all missed out on scoring hundreds while M Hayden went on to make the then fastest century in World Cups in the same match.

There are only 2 occasions of three century partnerships in the same ODI innings. One of them came in the World Cup match between South Africa and Netherlands at St Kitts in 2007. G Smith-H Gibbs, H Gibbs-J Kallis and J Kallis-M Boucher all 3 pairs put together century partnerships after losin Ab de Villiers at the score of 0.

Shane Warne was the first batsmen to get out stumped in a World Cup final.

Nathan Astle and Ijaz Ahmed has been dismissed without scoring the most in World Cups – 5 times each.